I’d love to see your results if you are making daily pages for a similar advent calendar. If you missed the tutorial at the start, here’s Part 1, which contained a download for how to create your calendar. Hope you like this project and will join me tomorrow for the next page.

This is turning into a bit of a Nestabilities theme week isn’t it. Cool! For anyone who hasn’t heard of Nestabilities dies they are made by an American company called Spellbinders http://www.spellbinders.us The Nestabilities are just one of the awesome ranges of dies that this company make. The idea behind Nestabilities is that the dies are grouped in decending size, so you can use them to cut mat’s for the shapes from alternating colours of cardstock for an interesting look.

The dies are sold in plain shapes, Squares, Circles, Rectangle and Ovals and these are available in Large or small. To compliment these basic shapes they also have Scalloped shaped dies, this means that you can use a larger die in the same shape or with a scalloped edge for a more decorative boarder. If you cut two dies at the same time you come up with a frame. This is great for adding dimension to your projects. There are also some Mega Nestabilities coming out shortly which are in a larger size that will suit scrapbookers too.

The dies are metal, so as long as you look after them they will last a lifetime. If you go to the Spellbinders own website they have a leaflet available for download which describes how to use their dies with machines other than their own Wizard machine. I use mine with a Cuttlebug for example. What makes the Spellbinders dies different to other die cutting dies is that they not only cut a shape, but if you change your ‘sandwhich’ filling (this is the arrangement of plates that your die cutting system uses) then you can also emboss the shapes as well. I am using mine to make gift tags this year for Christmas. You can also combine your cut out shapes with other embossing system’s such as the embossing folders that Cuttlebug make in order to add even more dimension and interest to your finished shapes.

These dies are good value for money as they emboss as well as cut and you get sets of 5-7 dies in the Nestabilities packs. The only downside is that they are sooo good you end up Needing LOTS of them.

I have mentioned previously that I store my brass embossing stencils in Photo Albums. Well this seemed the perfect solution for how to store my growing collection of Nestabilities dies from Spellbinders.

Here’s How

Take a 6 x 4″ photo Album, mark the cover with the description of the contents; in this case Nestabilities

Take a 6 x 4″ piece of card stock for each of your dies, make a note of the Name and Number of the die you will be storing on that page. This way you can easily keep plain and scallop pairs of dies on opposite pages to each other.

Apply a strip of low tac tape across the page.

Attach you Nestie to the tape and slip it into the photo album

You can clearly see though the plastic to choose your shapes, and the plastic film with prevent the dies scratching each other.

Store lots of dies in a small amount of space, but also in a convenient way to enable you to search your collection for a particular die.

You could trim down the original cardboard packaging and store that in the album, if you prefer. Stick the label from the front of the packet onto the cardboard though so it shows which die is being stored.

To Use

Simply slide the whole 6×4″ piece of card stock out of the album whilst the dies are in use and replace it back in the album once you have finished. Use a good weight of card stock to withstand the handling.

Links

If you haven’t seen these dies before check out this link which will take you to the Spellbinders website.

This storage idea will work for all kinds other flat dies made by Spellbinders, you can also use it for flat brass stencils too. Just make a note of your dies details on your storage page BEFORE you discard the original packaging, just in case you need the details for reference later.

There are other systems out there it is really a matter of personal choice. I chose this for the ability to use any manufacturers dies. I did not want to be tied to a system where you could only use one type of die. The suction system that holds the machine to the table is a HUGE plus. Others have told me that other systems that do not have this can wander around the table as you try to use them!

My best advice is to look at all the systems available, but also to look at the dies/embossing folders available with those brands too. If you get a system that does not support multiple brands you will be stuck with just what that manufacturer makes. I love the Wizard dies as they cut and emboss, they have a wonderful range called Nestabilites which are available in many shapes and sizes. Their range of dies are much broader in designs than others on the market which I found were a bit cartoonie and more aimed at children’s themes. Before I tried the Cuttlebug I was going to buy a WIzard, for me the suction plate available with the Cuttlebug was what swung it for me.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, if you have any questions or comments just leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you.

News Updates

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Have fun
Billie :)

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